


Either Way

by pipisafoat



Series: Jamieverse [10]
Category: In Plain Sight
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-05-29
Updated: 2011-05-29
Packaged: 2017-10-19 21:43:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 425
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/205524
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pipisafoat/pseuds/pipisafoat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>An unconventional proposal.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Either Way

Mary unzips her suitcase to find a pack of sticky notes. _Don't read these all at once_ , says the top one in Marshall's handwriting. She laughs and rips it off.

 _I told you not to do that.  
Seriously, Mary, you have no self-control.  
You should be ashamed of yourself.  
You're in big trouble when I find out you've done this._

She grins and pulls off all four to reveal a crayon drawing, entirely undecipherable save for her sister's neat handwriting. The green blob is Marshall, the red one is Mary, the purple one is Brandi, the small blue one is Jamie, and the note at the bottom of the picture explains that they are watching Dumbo together.

 _Don't you wish you'd saved that for a moment when you really needed to be cheered up?_

She smirks and sticks the picture to the hotel wall, just beside her bed. "Take that, smartass," she says aloud.

 _I put some tape in the side pocket of your suitcase. You don't want his art falling off the wall._

She shakes her head and digs out the tape, securing her nephew's contribution to Marshall's insanity. The bed bounces slightly as she sits, and she keeps reading through the stack. There are jokes - most of them only funny because they're Marshall's - mixed in with reminders to call them every day during the conference, random New York trivia, a plea to bring them back bagels, and more of Jamie's pictures. She tapes all of them to the wall as she gets to them, wondering when she became the sentimental aunt.

She pauses when there are only two sticky notes left in the stack and reads slowly, carefully. Marshall's handwriting is tiny, cramped into the small square, and its spikes show his anxiety.

 _Mary, if this isn't what you want, you don't need to say anything, just pretend you never saw it. I don't want to mess up anything with this. I just want to at least give you this option in case you want it like I do. But it's okay if you don't. Just remember that I love you either way, okay?_

She hesitates before ripping it quickly off to reveal the last note. _Will you marry me?_ It's the only picture that wasn't drawn by Jamie, and she feels her breath hitch at the gorgeous diamond ring Marshall's sketched. She grabs her phone and hits the first speed dial.

"Hey, bug," he answers. "How was the flight?"

"Yes," she says, surprised to feel tears on her cheeks. "God, Marshall, yes."


End file.
